Back in June, Mayon Volcano in Albay started acting up.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Monday, June 5 raised the alert level of Mayon Volcano in Albay from level 1 to 2 due to “increasing unrest.”

In its bulletin issued at 10 a.m., Phivolcs said Mayon Volcano is showing “unrest driven by shallow magmatic processes that could eventually lead to phreatic eruptions or even precede hazardous magmatic eruption.”

Manila Bulletin, June 5, 2023

Of course, June 10 was when we arrived in Bicol’s Daraga Airport–which is right beside Mayon Volcano. The volcano was so shrouded in cloud and steam that we actually didn’t see anything but its base when we arrived. The photos above were from the day we left, as we were boarding the plane.

Not satisfied with our flight landing beside an active volcano on alert level 2, we went straight to Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon, which seemed inclined towards a “steam driven eruption” back in May. Like Mayon, it was shrouded in clouds, and we didn’t actually see the volcano itself, only the mountains surrounding it. But we had a lovely boat ride around the lake.

It rained while we were on the lake, but it was still quite nice, as the boatmen pulled out these pretty rainbow umbrellas for our use, bright colors bouncing off the surface of the water. They had to assign us seats within the boat, to make sure the weight distribution was even. This led to some very funny seating arrangements, and ladylike poses for decidedly un-ladylike people.

Lucas actually wanted to paddle the boat, but we were tired from the flight and the land travel, and none of us were in good enough shape to actually paddle around the entire lake, which is why we opted for the boat ride instead. Another option was a raft, but that one was not capable of going around the whole lake, only to the middle, so we decided against it. Plus the temptation to push someone off the raft might have been too strong, LOL!

A bonus: A dinosaur at Bulusan! Our friend Jovan brought her dinosaur suit and we had some fun with the photos.

Those who are more outdoorsy can go hiking around the lake and up to the peak, or even go camping. Around the lake, the park administration is building cabins, so people can stay there, or go for day trips to go fishing. If I remember correctly, entrance to the park is Php 100 per head, but free for children, senior citizens and PWDs. The boat ride was Php 1,000, I think, because we took two boats.

And the best part: The volcano didn’t erupt while we were there! Definitely a win.